Articles

The Laboratory Test of AOS and ABS Surfactant at 60oC for EOR Process

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Background: By 2021, global oil demand is expected to rise by 5.3 million barrels per day (bopd), while oil output is anticipated to decrease gradually. The fall in oil production was attributed to a decline in reservoir pressure and a depletion of oil reserves in the field. Surfactants are employed as a technique in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) to enhance the extraction of oil.

Objective: This study investigates two different forms of surfactant solutions, specifically AOS (alpha olefin sulfonate) and ABS (alkyl benzene sulfonate). The two surfactants were evaluated at five distinct concentration levels, specifically 5%, 6%, and 7%. Both have a salinity level of 7,000 parts per million (ppm). AOS and ABS were selected as research materials because to their capacity to decrease interfacial tension.

Method: A phase behavior test was conducted to assess the durability of the foam throughout a 21-day measurement period at a temperature of 60°C. In addition, the research also seeks to ascertain the efficacy of oil recovery from the surfactant solution under investigation.

Results: This study is a controlled experiment conducted in a laboratory setting to examine the effects of AOS and ABS surfactants on sandstone rocks. The AOS and ABS surfactant solution was prepared by combining AOS powder and 70% ABS surfactant liquid with brine containing a salinity concentration of 7,000 ppm. The research procedure comprises multiple stages, such as density testing and phase behavior testing.

Conclusion: Based on this study, it may be inferred that concentrations beyond 5% did not yield middle-phase emulsions. Nevertheless, the oil recovery rate escalated to 68% as a result of the water flooding injection test and ongoing surfactant injection.

Laboratory Study of Analysis of the Effect of ABS Surfactant Injection on Increasing Oil Recovery

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The decline in oil recovery in oil and gas fields is a problem that must be faced now and in the future along with the increasing need for petroleum energy. Increasing oil recovery reserves requires an advanced method, namely Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). Surfactants are one of the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods to increase oil recovery. This laboratory research will use a surfactant solution, namely ABS Surfactant (Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate). There are five concentrations for each surfactant, namely 0.3; 0.5; 0.75; 0.9; and 1% with the same salinity of 7,000 ppm. In this study, ABS surfactant was used because the surfactant has the characteristic of being able to reduce interfacial tension. This research carried out a phase behavior test to determine the stability of the emulsion with a measurement time of 7 days at a temperature of 80 °C. Making an ABS surfactant solution, 70% ABS fluid is available where the surfactant raw material will be mixed with brine with a salinity of 7,000 ppm. There are several stages carried out, namely density test, phase behavior, interfacial tension, and core flooding. After making a sample of the ABS surfactant solution, the second step was to carry out a density test using a DMA-4100 densitometer to determine the density of the ABS surfactant solution at temperatures of 30 °C and 80 °C. The third is a phase behavior test where the surfactant solution will be mixed with oil and then placed in an oven at a temperature of 80 °C for 336 hours to obtain emulsion results that are close to the midpoint so that the stability of the emulsion is more optimal. The fourth is to determine the IFT value with a surfactant sample that has the highest volume of microemulsion stability. Finally, the core flooding test is to determine how much oil is recovered from the sandstone when surfactant injection is carried out. In the IFT results, the ABS surfactant solution was able to reduce the interfacial tension well between oil and formation water in the reservoir, where the interfacial tension value was 0.0055654 dyne/cm. The results of core flooding with ABS surfactant with a concentration of 0.9% salinity of 7,000 ppm obtained a recovery factor of 14.545%.